App Store Policyhttp://www.maclife.com/taxonomy/term/8149/all
enKindle Web App Sneaks Past App Storehttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/kindle_web_app_sneaks_past_app_store
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u315479/kindle-cloud-reader_200x150.jpg" alt="Kindle Cloud Reader" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Amazon pulled an App Store end-around today and quietly launched the <a href="https://read.amazon.com/about" target="_blank">Kindle Cloud Reader</a>, a web based version of the Kindle app.</p><p>Using HTML 5, the web app gives you instant access to your Kindle library, allowing you to read books immediately on the cloud, or download them for reading offline.</p><p>Kindle Cloud Reader supports Safari or Chrome browsers and is designed for use on Mac, PC, Linux, and Chromebook computers.</p><p>The web app, however, also supports Safari on iOS 4+, and is specifically "optimized for iPad." (See gallery images below.)</p><p>Any book shopping you do on the web app on your iPad, though, bypasses the App Store and goes straight to Amazon's Kindle Store for Tablets.&nbsp;Which has to be seen as striking a blow for the publishers and booksellers around the world who don't want to be tied down to the App Store's restricitions (and 30 percent cut) when trying to deliver an eBook onto a tablet.</p><p>The bad blood between Apple and publishers and booksellers like Amazon has been well documented. In June, <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_quietly_relents_unpopular_inapp_subscription_policies" target="_blank">Apple quietly relented</a> on many of the more restrictive restrictions, and an uneasy truce was formed. Kind of.</p><p>By the end of June, Apple forced Amazon, Barnes &amp; Noble, and Kobo to comply and remove links from their apps that bypassed the App Store. <a href="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/07/kobo-working-on-web-app-to-bypass-app-store-restrictions/" target="_blank">Kobo came out and said they would work on an HTML 5 workaround</a>; Amazon and B&amp;N said nothing.</p><p>But then Amazon got busy, or busier, as we suspect Kindle Cloud Reader has been in the works for some time.</p><p>Either way, it looks like the lines are being drawn in the battle for <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/features/app_store_showdown_apple_vs_amazon" target="_blank">where you buy your apps</a> and content, and right now the big dogs in the fight are Amazon and Apple.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><em>You can follow this author, Adrian Hoppel, on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/aphoppel" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, if you want to.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/kindle_web_app_sneaks_past_app_store#commentsNewsApp Store PolicyeReaderkindlekobonookiPadMacGalleryWed, 10 Aug 2011 19:11:30 +0000Adrian Hoppel11998 at http://www.maclife.comAll Sales Not Final: Apple Cutting Refunds For Final Cut Pro Xhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/all_sales_not_final_apple_cutting_refunds_final_cut_pro_x
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u315479/fcpx_200x150.jpg" alt="FCPX Refund" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Final Cut Pro X launched last week with a <em>meh</em>, with users wondering why <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/final_cut_pro_x_early_user_reactions_all_other_versions_discontinued" target="_blank">all older versions were discontinued</a>, a lambasting on a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/video_conan_o’brien_lampoons_final_cut_pro_“ex”" target="_blank">Conan O'Brien skit</a>, and too many customers leaving 1-star ratings and long, negative reviews on the Mac App Store. Apple, realizing that this latest version of their widely used film editing software might not be making the cut, began issuing refunds in the face of their own "all sales are final" app store policy (<a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/06/27/apple_adopts_7_day_app_store_return_policy_in_taiwan_singapore_to_give_soldiers_ipads.html" target="_blank">Taiwan notwithstanding</a>).</p><p>Apple has issued refunds for app purchases before, but on a case by case basis. If you are a disappointed purchaser of Final Cut Pro X, the path to financial recovery seems to be through filing an official request using the <a href="http://www.apple.com/support/mac/app-store/contact.html?form=account&amp;topic=MacAppStoreAccountandBilling" target="_blank">Mac App Store Customer Service form</a>. According to <a href="http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/06/28/apple-begins-refunding-unhappy-final-cut-pro-customers/" target="_blank">TNW</a>, stating that the app doesn't function as expected is one of the ways to get a refund.</p><p>Customers who have received refunds have posted <a href="http://www.eoshd.com/content/3198/apple-refunding-pros-for-final-cut-pro-x" target="_blank">some of their correspondence</a>&nbsp;with Apple reps, including one customer who also received a refund for Compressor. As of yet, it is unclear if the Final Cut Pro X license remains active after the refund, or if the user can continue to use the software.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/all_sales_not_final_apple_cutting_refunds_final_cut_pro_x#commentsNewsApp Store PolicyFinal Cut Pro XTue, 28 Jun 2011 18:08:53 +0000Adrian Hoppel11519 at http://www.maclife.comApple Banning Apps That Try to Cheat Top Downloads Listhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_banning_apps_try_cheat_top_downloads_list
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u310631/banhammer.jpg" alt="Banhammer" width="448" height="254" /></p><p>The iron portcullis of Apple's "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walled_garden_%28technology%29" target="_blank">walled garden</a>" has reportedly slammed shut in front of some new apps that utilize what many are <a href="http://cdixon.org/2011/04/01/app-store-shenanigans/" target="_blank">calling unfair practices</a>. Specifically, <a href="http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/App+Store/news.asp?c=29232" target="_blank">reports</a> are coming in that Tapjoy, along with other companies, are saying their apps have been banned for using "pay-per-install" incentive programs that offer free virtual currency or items to users who download the app.</p><p>This appears to be part of a set of <a href="http://gigaom.com/2011/04/19/apple-reportely-rejecting-apps-with-pay-per-install-campaigns/" target="_blank">changes</a> to Apple's enforcement of App Store development policy. They're cracking down on another set of practices known as "cross selling" whereby gimmicky apps bombard users with pop up ads to download other gimmicky apps.</p><p>Apple may also be <a href="http://gigaom.com/2011/04/18/apple-reportedly-adjusts-how-apps-are-ranked/" target="_blank">reworking the algorithms</a> for their Top Downloads section of the App Store. Being featured in the Top Downloads section can lead to big visibility and big profits, and has attracted numerous schemes for gaming that system. The changes could prove disastrous for companies that have made gaming the system their bread and butter, but as always, it's hard to feel sorry for them. Their party came at the expense of App users money, time, and quality experience.</p><p>In a <a href="http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/MdotM+news/news.asp?c=29252" target="_blank">report by PocketGamer</a>, Rodney Witcher of US development director at app developer MdotM said, "Incentivised pay-per-install, which has from the beginning been 100 percent about gaming the App Store rankings, is unhealthy." Perhaps these changes could help iPhone users buy with a bit more confidence, knowing that popular apps will be based on quality consensus rather than whichever company is the most effective cheater.</p><p>Even the pay-per-install apps may technically be ethically clean but are still dubious. The App Store gold rush has already cratered the price of games and apps down to between 99 cents and $1.99. Pushing it to the point of actually paying customers for a free download is a dangerous and most likely unsustainable proposition.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_banning_apps_try_cheat_top_downloads_list#commentsNewsApp Store PolicyappleiOSiphoneiPod touchMdotMTapjoyWalled GardenTue, 19 Apr 2011 18:26:37 +0000Andrew Groen10711 at http://www.maclife.com